Tag: class action

St. John’s, NL. March 28, 2013 – Breakwater Books is pleased to announce that Breakwater President and Publisher Rebecca Rose has acquired the rights to No One To Tell: Breaking My Silence on Life in the RCMP by former RCMP officer Janet Merlo.

Merlo is the Representative Plaintiff in a Proposed Class Action Lawsuit that was filed one year ago, on March 27, 2012.

A vocal supporter of the class-action suit, Janet Merlo was among the first female RCMP officers to publicly allege she had experienced sexual harassment and gender discrimination while serving in Canada’s national police force. The women kept silent for so long, Merlo says, because there was no one to tell. In her courageous memoir, Janet recalls how her love of policing was soured by covert and overt sexism within the ranks and by an institutional culture that valued toughness and silence over ethics and accountability.

“After years of living and working in a hostile environment where silence was the norm, I’m finally finding my voice,” Merlo said today. “Sharing my story serves both as a way for me to find healing, and for me to reach out to other women who may be experiencing the same kind of harassment.”

Tracing her twenty years in uniform, Merlo’s story details the highs and lows of her career in the RCMP – while her mental health and personal life disintegrated. Eventually, the cost of keeping quiet was simply too high. Her story emerges as a lone, brave voice seeking change.

“Janet Merlo’s story deserves the nation’s careful attention,” Breakwater Publisher Rebecca Rose said. “Breakwater is pleased to be able to announce the acquisition today, as the class-action lawsuit reaches its one-year anniversary.”

The memoir will be edited by author Leslie Vryenhoek, with an introduction by journalist Linden MacIntyre.

No One To Tell: Breaking My Silence on Life in the RCMP will be published by Breakwater Books in September 2013.